


New Beginnings

by okeydokey (LilMissNerdfighter)



Category: Sherlock (TV), Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: But works as Gen, Can be read as Johnlock if you want it, Gen, Reichenbach, Sherlock is a self-sacrificing idiot, Total accident, unbetaed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-21
Updated: 2013-09-21
Packaged: 2017-12-27 06:15:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/975413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LilMissNerdfighter/pseuds/okeydokey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The only way for Sherlock to save his friends is for him to jump. He has no back-up plan. Death is the only option, right?</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Beginnings

He’s wobbling on a rooftop, and suddenly he is aware that his future is nothing more than oblivion. One step forward and then all of his problems are solved. One step and the boredom is vanquished forever. One step forward and his friends are safe. John is safe. How he got onto that ledge is an undetermined blur, if he had more time he’d try and remember. But through the haze of adrenaline and regrets- he is human after all, of course there are things he is going to miss- there is a certainty that this is right. If dying is the way to protect them forever, then it is worth it. Everything will be okay; he just has to believe that he is right one last time.   
He can hear John’s ragged breathing on the other end of the phone, a lifeline. He’s never going to hear that sound again, he realises. Never going to watch John stumble around their kitchen making tea in the morning light or retreat back inside, hiding from the cold night, arms full of noodles and prawn crackers. His resolve wavers momentarily; maybe he doesn’t have to give up lazy evenings spent reading and pretending to ignore John. But then the enormity of what’s at stake brings him back to reality. His life or his friends’. And then he realises that he never really had a choice. He should have stopped calling himself a sociopath years ago.  
Sherlock can hear John begin to say something, but he can’t let him. He’s made up his mind and no doctor is going to talk him out of it. He tries to trivialise the decision, it’s just like choosing drugs or to sacrifice sleep for another night, but the niggling finality springs to the forefront of him mind every-time he takes a numbered breath. This is it.  
‘Goodbye, John’.   
Sherlock terminates the call, taking one final breath before throwing his last remaining connection to John away. A final pause, gathering his thoughts. Leaning forward is all it will take. He can do it. A leap of faith. A step in the right direction. On the count of three? Sherlock took a deep breath, filling his lungs with precious air. On the count of three.  
One. Lestrade dragging him off the street and giving him a place to stay when he had no-one. Two. The light of Mrs Hudson’s kitchen and her unwavering affection. Three. John defending him until the last minute.   
And then he drops like a stone, a coat black as night tumbling towards the ground. He can see the concrete steadily approaching, but there’s nothing he can do but remain completely conscious and think of John. Afghanistan or Iraq? Rearranging his sock index. Tea at the palace. Too late to change his mind. Arguing in the Lab. You machine. Too late to make a garbled apology. Feet pounding the pavement. Sherlock closed his eyes, taking one final breath.   
Goodbye John.  
‘Sherlock!’  
He slammed into the surprisingly soft pavement, the force jolting him upwards. Hands shaking his body. Thoughts thick like congealed blood. He sank back down again, falling backwards.   
‘Sherlock.’  
How could he still hear? How was he still alive? What was going on? His heart pounded in his ears, the world a vivid shade of orange beyond his eyelids. He was so comfortable. But John’s voice chased sleep away.   
Sherlock blearily peeled his eyes open, flinching away from the incredible sunlight. He pushed himself up until he could see the flat desert stretching endlessly in every direction. The only movement came from the black helicopters circling the sky. How the hell did he end up in a desert? Where was John? He wracked his memory but kept coming up blank. Sherlock pulled himself to his feet, eyes starting to adjust to the blinding light. A small town materialised in front of him, the wooden houses completely out of place nestled in between the sand planes.   
Not seeing any other options, Sherlock began the slow walk towards the town, gaining speed the more he walked. The heat engulfed him, making his head scream and breathing as ragged as John’s had been. He pulled off his blood-stained coat to try and cool down, to stop his every breath reminding him just how far from home he was. The closer he grew to the little town, the more confused he became. It didn’t make sense for such a built up town to exist in the desert. Despite the countless shops and houses, the streets were empty; the blinking red light on top of a radio tower the only sign of life.   
‘Hello?’ Sherlock yelled, feeling increasingly as though his IQ had dropped by 100 points. For a moment, there was no response. The sun burned hotly in the sky as the helicopters continued to circle, and everything was still and silent. Then a shout came from down the street:  
‘Hi!’ The voice replied. Sherlock strained his eyes, watching as a man with sun-bleached blonde hair and a white shirt appeared from behind a large sign for ‘Big Rico’s Pizza’. ‘Are you alright?’  
‘Where am I?’ Sherlock demanded as the man came into focus. He could see now that the man’s arms were covered in purple markings (tattoos?) and as the man came to a stop in front of him, Sherlock could see that the man’s eyes were of the same shade.   
‘You don’t know where you are? Why you’re in the best town for miles!’ The man exclaimed, seemingly unconcerned as to how exactly Sherlock had wound up in his city and unfazed by his blood splattered appearance. ‘Welcome, to Night Vale!’


End file.
